July 19, 2009

Alternative Treatments for Narcolepsy? Be Careful! Part Uno

(This is kind of a long post, but I hope it may be of great use to some of you out there! I certainly am interested in knowing all I can:)

I don't know anyone that wouldn't be ecstatic to find a natural way to make Narcolepsy go away or even something that would help reduce Narcolepsy's symptoms. I know I am one of those willing to try any safe natural treatment. Hey, If it doesn't work for me, no real loss, right? At least it would be a learning experience. And, as the saying goes, what works for some, may not work for others. (I think that is a saying...but oops, if it is not)


Those who know me know I am a researcher. I look for news everyday, regarding new information about Narcolepsy, and read way to much, most of which is written in a language that I understand, at best, only a bit, due to the medical terminology. (Why didn't I become a doctor or geneticist...:)


So with that being, I have always noticed some "natural cures" that pop up on the web from time to time claiming that Narcolepsy is over, done been cured, that is, with the help of their well studied, miraculous mixture of herbs, that completely kick Narcolepsy in the butt! Yeah, right...


I have tried to find information about the companies that have these websites that are strangely similar in many ways. I have tried to find out if anyone has tried any of them....can't find a soul, except for the testimonials of those on the products website. So, as much as I had ever wanted to just try them, my conscience just cannot allow me to. Below I gathered some info from each of these sites for your viewing. I also have written to two of them, which I have below as well.
My personal comments are in
RED so it doesn't get confusing. Here it tis...oh ps. I didn't list the website addresses. A quick Google, and you'll find them fast if needed.

Treatment name:
Corsatax

Claim from their website:
"Unlike other Narcolepsy products which are slow or ineffective, Corsatax has the unique ability to provide long term support in a relatively short time through an easy one-a-day pill regimen. In recent years there has been an increasing interest by medical researchers, practitioners and also the general public in natural plants and herbs as sources of medicine. All pharmaceutical companies are now finally admitting the fact that plants and herbs are by nature endowed with substances that have incredibly powerful healing powers."...uh....this statement actually has nothing to do with their unique product! duh.

Cost: 60 tabs=65.00 90 tabs=95.00

Guarantee:
"After placing your order, if you believe for any reason that Corsatax is not suitable for you or you do not find it meeting your health expectations, you have nothing to worry about. All you have to do is to send us back the unused portion (or the empty bottles if you have used the whole product) and all amount that you have paid us would be refunded immediately without any delay. It is completely up to you if you want to give a reason as you will not be asked for any. This guarantee is valid for 60 days from the date of purchase, thus allowing enough time for delivery to your door and to experience results."

Company:
Botanical Sources Via Canova 24, Suite # NR 320 Roma 00186 Italy Ok, they have a guarantee, sound to good to be true? Me thinks so... They provide NO studies done on the product, but they do provide links to studies about natural plants being useful in medicine, as if they think the average person doesn't know that that has already been known since the beginning of time. errrrr... Since they provide no evidence or real info about their product, I used their contact form to write them this letter:

I wrote:

"Hello, I am interested in learning more about your treatment. Are there any specific studies that have been done using Corsatax? I am eager to read these type of studies, published or private. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank You."

I will update with any additional info I receive. I hope they get back with me with great proof, I really do. But my realistic mind tells me they won't. I hope I am wrong. Until then, I would advise anyone not to jump into this one. You may never get your money back and they list no proof of their product working, with the exception of their overly generic testimonials. Darn!
UPDATE: As of April 15, 2010, I have not heard anything from this company...Surprise!

If anyone out there has tried this product, I would love love love, did I mention, Love to hear from you. I have always wanted just to try it and see what happens, but I just don't have the money to take that chance.

Oh, I have broken this post down, so my next post will be about another company similiar to this one, with another product aimed toward knocking Narcolepsy on it's proverbial butt. :) Thanks everyone for reading my posts. I love ya all!

14 comments:

narcolepticized said...

Great research, my friend! I am so happy to see that although you are sleepy, you are not ignorant like me. It drives me crazy to see all of the possible health cures, yet, no proof that they work. Great job!!! Have you looked me up on facebook yet? Michael A. Wiggs in Orlando?

Oh Hola I'm Ja:) said...

Hey Michael,
Thanks for the thumbs up! I think I have a page at facebook, but I have never used it...i am a slow poke!

Have a greeeaaat night!

Main Man said...

I too appreciate your efforts. My reaction to most of there natural "cures" is dismissal. That being said, I do regularly use acupuncture and Chinese herbs to "aid" in my management of the disease. I think herbal supplements can help, but until I see extensive, vetted studies I will never believe that anything will "cure" our condition. Thanks for doing this. Cheers.

The Wades said...

Stopping by your blog for the first time. My nine year old son is in the process of being diagnosed with narcolepsy. Once we get his tonsils out to treat his apnea, they can officially diagnosis him. I know he has it. He is starting with the terrible dreams at night, cataplexy is getting worse by the week, and his excessive daytime sleepiness is pretty bad. Plus, he tested positive for the gene and his grandmother has it. Nothing looking good for the guy, huh? Oh, and he took the daytime sleep test and went into REM during all four naps, falling asleep in 2 min, 3 min, 2 min, and then 3 min.

I've only seen this one post, but am excited to see a source out there-a real person. Can you tell me if you know anything about weight gain? He went from a toned body to chubby in about 2 or 3 weeks. The first neurologist we saw has no clue and neither do the sleep specialists.

At this point everything is very depressing and frustrating. We know it will get easier, but right now we're all having a hard time. He personality has completely changed. He is angry, sad or frustrated pretty much all the time.

Sorry to ramble.

Michelle

Oh Hola I'm Ja:) said...

Michelle,

Thank you for your comments and reading my blog. I apologize that my response took so long! About the weight issue: There is a good article all about Narcolepsy at http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/narcolepsy/print.html

About half way down the page, it talks about hypocretin and other chemicals in the brain that Narcolepsy might effect. It says that hypocretin deficiency may "Lower levels of leptin, a hormone associated with obesity when levels decline (people with narcolepsy tend to be overweight)". I have also seen many people with Narcolepsy write about having weight issues. I know that as the years go on, I have more trouble with my weight. This article is quite good and if you search for weight gain and Narcolepsy together at Google, you will come up with a whole lot of links.

Some meds can also cause weight gain. I wish you two the best and yes it is difficult, but just like everyone, even us Narcolepsy folks will still have the good days, along with the bad! It has helped me though, to read all I can about the disease, because it seems that many Doctors, even Neurologists, don't know that much about it! Stay strong, and you will be in my prayers!

Via con Dios,
Ja

Joerge11 said...

Hello my friends,

I got N when I was 9 years old; I got weight and wasn't good in sport anymore. At school I lost one year but then managed life, cheated my employers and now 71 years old still try to find means to reduce N outbreaks. I do pranayama, but haven't come far. These are pretty dangerous breathing exercises, which more than often let people get mad.
In the future the genetic cure process may become a breakthrough.
What I never understood is the helplessness of the medicine experts. Nobody from this profession knows anything about the tendencies of an outbreak. Why ist it not possible to find means which give an early alarm of a possible outbreak.
Then there is the nightmare aspect when it starts. For two years I experienced night by night terrible nightmares to which in comparison horror films are absolutely lovely, harmless and boring.
So far my best methods to reduce slightly (a tiny wee bit) the effects is not to eat in the morning and at lunch time and in the afternoon.

Best greetings
Georg Blomeyer
geblomeyer@gmail.com

sally said...

Hi,Intereasting,helpful reading,My man is a narcolep.We r exploring a natural patch form fix.If we have sucess we will not only get back to you but will put it on facebook too!love to help.WISH US LUCK.talk soon hopefully

Ambrose said...

hello dear bloggers, I too am narcoleptic. my neurologist said my sleep study was the worst he had seen. I noticed the symptoms way back in high school when i basically slept through all my classes. I went from being top of my class , top physics student to a habitual C student . Being in boarding school in West Africa , it wasn't easy. Now at 36 yrs old I am a registered nurse (since age of 21 ), though i have serious problems with completing any tasks in a timely manner. It can be embarrassing but I have learned to manage the symptoms well enough to get by. I try to get out of the house early in the morning and stay busy all day just to avoid sleeping at home all day. I take frequent power naps in the car during the day. I work out and play soccer about 5x/week. Provigil helped at some point but I found that the supplement oxy-elite pro helped as well.
I dream a whole lot as well but they are always beautiful dreams about angels, heavenly music , futuristic stuff , beautiful women and once in a while I'll dream of hell (at least thats what i call it in the dreams). I am overall very happy, very fit, very active and lively though I could have been a lot more without the disease. But I take it as a glass half full and do always do the things I love.
JA you are beautiful and thank you so much for all your research and writings. " much obliged" in the words of Clint Eastwood :)

Anonymous said...

Just thought I would put my two cents in. I actually did find an herbal supplement that completely gets rid of my narcolepsy symptoms. I hope you are able to find something too! Best of luck to you and everyone else dealing with this.

Ambrose said...

Andy, should we assume that the supplement you found is top secret or why aren't you sharing the info with the rest of us like JA did ? :)

Anonymous said...

Andy, What would that herbal supplement be? Do you have a medical diagnosis or just "narcoleptic symptoms"? If you wouldn't mind sharing.

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